06-07-2025
'Hard Not To Go There': Echo Sound Candidate For Test After Victory Ride Score
'Hard Not To Go There': Echo Sound Candidate For Test After Victory Ride Score originally appeared on Paulick Report.
Gabriel Duignan's Echo Sound stormed home a 4 1/4-length winner in Thursday's Grade 3, $175,000 Victory Ride, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies during the July 4th Racing Festival, at Saratoga Race Course.
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Trained by Rusty Arnold, the Echo Town bay pressed the pace through a half-mile in 44.85 seconds on the fast main track and separated from the field down the lane to surge through the wire to win in a final time of 1:15.49.
The performance earned a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure. Arnold reported Echo Sound exited the strong showing in good order.
'She looks good. She came out of the race good,' said Arnold. 'She's good and healthy, and back in her feed good, with no issues. That was quite a performance. I thought she stepped up, she ran better; it was probably her best race and hopefully she is one on the improve because each race is going to be a little tougher.'
The logical next spot would be the Grade 1, $500,000 Test, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies, on August 2 at Saratoga.
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Interestingly, Arnold trained Victory Ride through a 9-5-1-2 record that included a score in the 2001 Test over eventual Hall of Famer Xtra Heat.
"It would be hard not to go there if everything is good. If she comes back and trains well that would be where we would go,' Arnold said. 'You don't know until you do it, but you would think seven furlongs is within her realm, so we will give it a try."
Echo Sound improved to 6-5-1-0 with additional stakes scores in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness on May 16 at Pimlico Race Course and the Myrtlewood in October at Keeneland, as well as a runner-up effort in the Fern Creek in November at Churchill Downs.
This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
